


'Twas Christmas Told The Merriest Tale

by afteriwake



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Christmas Kiss, Christmas Morning, Christmas Party, Drabble Collection, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Married Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper, Mistletoe, Molly-centric, POV Molly Hooper, POV Multiple, POV Sherlock Holmes, Pining Sherlock, Rushing Home, Sherlock Holmes and Feelings, Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper Fluff, Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper Kissing, Sherlock is a Good Parent, Sherlock-centric, Triple Drabble
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-21
Updated: 2015-12-21
Packaged: 2018-05-08 07:00:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5488004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Three different Christmas tales, three different scenarios that could happen, three different Christmases spent between the world’s only consulting detective and the pathologist who captured his heart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	'Twas Christmas Told The Merriest Tale

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Twentyonedaydreams](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Twentyonedaydreams/gifts), [Amberowl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amberowl/gifts).



> These are three holiday themed ficlets focusing of Sherlock Holmes and Molly Hooper written as part of my [Project: Bring Some Holiday Cheer](http://penaltywaltz.tumblr.com/post/135405692533/i-want-to-do-something-to-make-some-people-smile) initiative. I wrote them to cheer up friends of mine who were having a bit of a rough time and wanted to have a bit of a smile this holiday season. The request line is still open, BTW; just click on the link for details! Title comes from a poem by Walter Scott.
> 
> And I was also gifted with a lovely piece of art by **Amberowl** for the first story, "With Just One Kiss," that I wanted to share with all of you! I think it's absolutely lovely and it was a wonderful surprise and it is absolutely perfect for the story. Many thanks to my dear friend for it!
> 
>  
> 
>   
> 

**With Just One Kiss**

He had never been more frustrated in his adult life. It was almost like he was a teenager again, back to the times of mixed signals, of not knowing what things meant, of having trouble deciphering meanings from conversations. His life had been so much simpler when he had simply decided to close himself off from emotions and then ever since he’d allowed John Watson in others had been sneaking into his life, one by one, worming their way into his heart and head, making themselves comfortable. But none had burrowed deeper than Molly Hooper.

He sipped the ghastly punch, making a face. John should have known better than to let his daughter have a say in the flavor. A traditional mulled cider minus the alcohol would have been a better choice instead of this cherry-watermelon-who-knew-what flavored fizzy concoction they had now. He set aside the glass and was about to turn to look for a glass of plain water when he nearly ran into Molly. Molly, who looked exquisite in a calf length red dress that had sleeves that were off the shoulder as well as straps on the shoulder. She’d pulled her hair back in a chignon and he’d been staring at the nape of her neck off and on for nearly an hour. She had a very graceful neck, he realized. “Sorry,” she said with an embarrassed smile.

“The fault is all mine,” he said before glancing up. She did the same and then they saw it, the sprig of parasitic greenery above them. He turned to her and saw she was blushing slightly. He could give her an out, he supposed. Say he cared little for tradition, especially one as foolish as this one. But truth be told he wanted the game of mixed signals to stop. He fancied her. He was fairly sure, though not entirely sure, she fancied him still, even after all these years, even after everything. And a kiss…a kiss under the guise of tradition could prove that.

He stepped closer, reaching up to place his knuckle under her chin to tip her head up. She looked up at him with wide eyes, her mouth slightly open in wonder as he bent his head down and pressed his lips to hers; She didn’t stiffen in shock, thankfully, but within moments she reached forward, grabbing the lapels of his suit jacket to hold onto him as she kissed him back, and he moved his hand from her face to move it to her side to pull her closer. Yes, there were no mixed signals in this response. She did still fancy him…and he was very glad for that indeed.

**Good To Be Home**

She never should have agreed to go to the conference. She knew there was a lot of prestige for Barts riding on this, a lot of accolades for her as well, and a nice potential raise and even the chance at getting a seat on the board, but she should have _known_ that something like this would happen. She was racing the clock, hoping against hope that, just for once, her daughters would do something unpredictable this Christmas like, oh…stay in bed before the sun rose.

She waited for her plane to land at Heathrow. Her brother-in-law had pulled strings to get her a business class booking; he probably would have tried to get her a private plane if he could, but this was all he could do and, well, Mycroft had done what he could do. The flight attendant made her way over to her and helped her get her things. This was curious. She was led off the plane to see a familiar figure there, giving her a grin. “Lights and sirens, at least until we get close to Baker Street,” Lestrade said.

“Oh, I could kiss you,” Molly said, giving her friend a hug. She glanced at the watch and saw it was nearly seven. They gathered her luggage quickly, including the extra bag of wrapped gifts, and then she was bundled in the back of a patrol car, speeding home, lights and sirens on until they were four blocks away from 221 Baker Street. Soon they pulled up in front and she was greeted at the door by her husband, clad in pyjamas and dressing gown. She got out and made her way to the door while the first rays of light started to touch the morning sky. “Are they…?” she asked.

“Patricia and Frances are still in bed, though I’m not entirely sure they’re still asleep,” Sherlock said, giving her a smile. “They decided it would be best to wait until their mother got home and settled before they burst into the room for their customary Christmas morning routine.” Then he moved to pull her close to him before leaning in. “Though I could, perhaps, make mention when I walk by their room to have them wait a little while so I can properly snog their mother, as I haven’t seen her in a week and missed her greatly. I’m sure they’ll understand presents can wait.” She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck before kissing him, glad to be home for Christmas.

**What Feels Right**

He hadn’t realized he’d feel so lonely this holiday season. Of course, the year before he’d been fully concentrated on taking down Magnussen, on giving John and Mary their future back, but this year…this year he realized he was really quite utterly alone. They had each other, Lestrade had someone he’d been seeing who seemed to be a decent enough fit, Mrs. Hudson had a person she was having a dalliance with, even his brother seemed to be content enough with _someone_. His PA, probably, even if he wouldn’t admit it. The only other person who was alone, as far as he could tell, was Molly.

She had been alone since the year before. A few scattered dates here and there, with one man that could possibly have been considered a boyfriend but really, that had petered out after a short time. It seemed she was simply not interested in the caliber of men who were interested in her, and really, they weren’t that great. She deserved a man who treated her like a goddess, and then men who were offering themselves to her failed to do so. They were idiots, the lot of them. And he was glad they weren’t sticking around.

That wasn’t fair, he thought. She deserved better than that. He deserved his lot in life but she…she deserved better than to be alone on the holidays. To be alone at all, really. He had observed her when she didn’t notice and just as she had studied him when no one else did, saw what others ignored, he saw that about her. He saw that she was sad and was putting a bright face on it. And that wasn’t right. She deserved happiness.

And that brought him to now. Nothing extravagant, nothing very grand. Just an evening between two lonely people on the holidays, two people who were close. An evening with good food and good music and good company. Good conversation. Laughter. Smiling. Warmth. All the things he hadn’t had in so long, all the emotions he hadn’t felt in what seemed like forever. And it felt…right. It felt perfectly right. Just like leaning forward and kissing her did. And when she kissed him back, her fingers moving to gently touch the bottom of his face, to play along his jaw, he realized he should have done this, all of this, long ago.


End file.
